Current populations is unsustainable

The news came that, for the first time during years of monitoring, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a new high of 400 parts per million (ppm). This reading was taken at a monitoring station in Hawaii.

This carbon dioxide level is up from the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in preindustrial times. Those levels were lower - 280 ppm or below.

During much of the time that man has been on the planet, carbon dioxide levels were much lower - between 180 ppm and 280 ppm.

Presently, mankind burns about 86 million barrels of oil per day. Including all fossil fuels, this rate of burning dumps 8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. With this rate, levels will continue to rise.

The other story is the continuing drought in Texas, Kansas and other parts of the plains. We learned the nation's largest aquifer, the Ogallala, is running low on its water reserves.

The Ogallala aquifer spans some six states from Nebraska in the north, and Texas and New Mexico in the south. This aquifer has about the same amount of water as Lake Huron.

After several years of drought and decades of irrigation, the aquifer's water level has dropped significantly.

The water level has dropped more than one foot in just a year in most parts, and dropped as much as 150 feet in some parts since the 1950's.

With the bad environmental news on water and weather and the high price of oil, one wonders if the planet can support a population of 7 billion people - heading toward 8 billion. We will need yet more oil and more fresh water.